The Top Ten Good Men Politicians

“Good” is not the adjective that springs to mind when most people think about politicians. Unscrupulous, self-serving, incompetent, sure—but good? Not so much.

As our political landscape grows ever more polarized—and ordinary Americans feel increasingly alienated from the political process—the conventional wisdom seems to be that when it comes to elected officials, a good man is hard to find. As humorist Kin Hubbard once put it, “We’d all love to vote for the best man, but he’s never a candidate.”

At the Good Men Project Magazine, we want to believe that there are a few good men in politics. We need to believe it. So we spent the last few months looking for them.

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We looked for men with integrity and intellectual honesty.

We looked for men who respect their political opponents, treat their constituents like the adults they are, and promote openness and transparency in government.

We looked for men with compelling ideas—and the ability and vision to turn those ideas into action. Do we endorse everything they stand for? No. But we can respect those we disagree with.

We looked for men who can see beyond the next election cycle and who have the political courage to lay the foundation for America’s future success—even if it means making unpopular decisions today.

We looked for men who are willing to work in good faith with those from across the aisle in order to get things done.

We looked for men who are not afraid to challenge their party’s leadership when that leadership is putting politics and partisan mudslinging above what’s best for the country.

Most importantly, we looked for men who aren’t completely full of shit.

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Sadly, we didn’t find any. Just kidding. Believe it or not, there are actually more than 10 good men in politics. In list-making, as in politics, you can’t make everyone happy, so we had to exclude some worthy candidates from our Top 10 Good Politicians list. We also excluded many worthy women—we are the Good Men Project, after all.

While we don’t expect our list to restore your faith in America’s political system, we do hope to bring your attention to elected officials worth respecting for their integrity, their passion, and their ideas.

In addition to our list, we asked fifteen political thinkers, commentators, and journalists—including Cokie Roberts, David Brooks, Andrew Sullivan, John Podesta, Chris Wallace, Andrea Mitchell, Joan Walsh, Thomas Frank, and Jonathan Capehart—for their nomination of a “good man” in politics.

Disagree with them? Disagree with us? Or, better yet, agree with us? Let us know in the comments. Oh, and go vote on November 2.

Comments

Paul Ryan’s “Roadmap” is a trumped-up plan to facilitate further corporate take-over. When all is said and done, we can vote who gets put in power in the government. We can’t vote on CEOs. I would rather pay my taxes to the government with all its flaws (and even corporate influences) than give more power to big money.
And what is with Flake? I am so glad to see someone speaking up about the earmarks, but I think his politicizing of the funding of scientific research mars that. Now we need someone more vocal in defense of honest science than Flake is against earmarks.
My vote goes to Bernie Sanders. At least he is truly for the people.

It has been cited that Mitch Daniels has saved Indiana from financial ruin. The question is, “How did he do it”? To meet his new budget, he fired thousands of state employees. This was not a “cutting of the fat”. A large percentage of the newly unemployed state workers are the ones who have dedicated 30, even 40 years to their jobs. These same people are finding it impossible to find new jobs because of their age. Even though it is illegal to not hire someone because of their age, the fact is no one is hiring 50 and 60 year old people in his economy, especially when their work experience is limited to state government. It is a tragic event for these folks. Many have had to cash in retirement plans just to keep their homes. My wife is one such case. She had over 30 years es an employee of the BMV.

I voted for Daniels twice because I am a lifelong conservative. Now, I have a very cynical view of all politicians. His policies have virtually destroyed our lives and taken a toll on our health. The stress is unbearable. I guess it is a negligible price to pay for Mr. Daniels career advancement.

For Mitch Daniels, the old saying holds true, “The ends justify the means”!

“We looked for men with integrity and intellectual honesty.
We looked for men who respect their political opponents, treat their constituents like the adults they are, and promote openness and transparency in government.”

Given the first two criteria, neither hoosier merits a spot on this list. Take it from a hoosier. You need only look at the amount that Indiana owes for it’s underfunded unemployment trust fund. It will start incurring penalties at the end of the current Daniel’s administration. Lugar has finally sold his vote to the party of NO!

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